June 2024 COE Results 2nd Bidding: The COE dragon cruised a little higher in Categories A and B, and dipped a bit in Categories C and E

In the second COE bidding exercise of June 2024, Cat A closed at $90,889; Cat B closed at $102,334; Cat C closed at $69,900; Cat D closed at $9,002; while Cat E closed at exactly $100,000.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,403 bids for 966 COEs and its premium climbed by $2,689. Category A COE closed at $90,889.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,046 bids for 674 COEs and its premium climbed by $1,727. Category B COE closed at $102,334.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 291 bids for 214 COEs and its premium decreased by $689. Category C COE closed at $69,900.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 620 bids for 520 COEs and its premium increased by merely $13. Category D COE closed at $9,002.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 301 bids for 177 COEs and dipped by $1,600. Category E COE closed at $100,000.

Nicholas Wong, chief executive officer of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, told Motorist: “Although the overall number of bids has dropped, the bidding was still strong, leading to a slight price-up of $2.6k for Cat A and $1.7k for Cat B. These price-ups are not significant, but they go against the supply-and-demand pattern for the shifting of COE prices. The Open Category is interesting, because it didn’t react until the last five minutes, indicating low interest. This is likely due to the higher supply this time, but the car stocks may not arrive before the Cat E COEs expire in three months’ time. Another factor is, the previous drop in COE premiums wasn’t big enough to capture the attention of car buyers.”

Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors which represents Hyundai in Singapore, told Motorist: "The market said sales are slow. Cat A and B saw higher demand than last round. Customers will likely wait for the next drop as Cat A went above $90k again. As for Cat E being lower than Cat B, could this be a signal of a weak market?"

Another senior executive at a major dealership in the Alexandra Road motor belt told Motorist: “The stocks for Car B cars are believed to be not here yet, hence their dealers didn’t bid for Cat E and instead bidded for Cat B, which has a longer expiry period. There are still a lot of Cat E COEs in the market and therefore many dealers probably preferred to stay out of Cat E in this round. Generally, the order collection has been better, thanks to the drop in Cat A COE in the last round, hence there is a slight rebound which is backed by actual demand.”

Here is a summary of the second COE bidding exercise for June 2024: